On Wednesday 2nd May 2007 Fran and I set off in Flivver for the 25th Anniversary Jersey Spring Rally. We had wanted to go on this rally for some years and this year the opportunity arose for us to go. There was another reason for my visit and this was to see the Aston Martin 'Ulster' model previously owned by two Hurricane pilots that both lost their lives in World War 2.

The first pilot was Pilot Officer Lancelot Steele Dixon a Hurricane pilot killed in action on the 9th April 1940 in the Battle of France. When he died Flight Lieutenant Ronald Derek Gordon Wight D.F.C. purchased it off the estate of the late pilot for £200 pounds.I have a letter from Hugh W Dixon the father of the late pilot confirming the purchase price and ending with the sentence 'Hoping you will get the same joy out of this funny little car as my Son did'.

I have three photographs of Wight in the car, one on his own, one with his mother, Ethel and one with his mother and sister, Morna. On them can be seen the registration and from this with the aid of the Aston Martin Owners Club I traced the car to Jersey, hence my interest in going there.

The present owner has the Ulster of Wight a look alike Ulster (more or less the same as the real thing, the only difference being the /U not on the commission plate) an Aston Martin Zagato, another Aston Martin run about and a Buggati Tourer, his wife had an Austin Ruby for good measure. So Wight's Ulster was in good company.

I had taken most of the relevant files containing most of the information on Wight with me for the present owner to copy. He only knew the information on the car from 1955 onwards, so getting this information was a godsend to him.

The photographs of it today are hardly any different from it in 1940 up until today compare the three black and white ones with the up to date ones. Apart from the absence of the blackout slit in the headlamp and the different number plate due to the car now being registered in Jersey it is little different in the 67 years in between the photo's being taken.

View of the cockpit.

The commission plate.

Exhaust system.

Threequarter front view.

Threequarter rear view.

Offside.

With Flivver.

Me!

Ulster with present owner and myself.